Keelan uses head to help Fremd win thriller
In a game dominated by the offenses, a defensive lineman who used his head proved to be the difference in Friday's Mid-Suburban West football showdown between Barrington and Fremd.
The host Vikings survived a 42-41 overtime thriller at Hale Hildebrandt Field thanks in part to Dane Keelan, who broke through Barrington's line just enough to get in the way of Ryan Murach's overtime conversion attempt after Cody Seeger's 1-yard sneak and deflect it wide - with his helmet.
"I got through a little," Keelan said. "It was one of those little things that make a difference."
It made enough of a difference that Brett Opitz' successful conversion after Mike Tauchman's 1-yard sneak on Fremd's overtime possession gave the Vikings (6-2, 3-1) the victory, which kept alive their hopes of at least sharing the West ision championship with a win next week against Hoffman Estates.
Barrington stormed back from a 35-24 deficit with 4:48 left after Evan Wright (6 carries for 42 yards) scored his second touchdown on a 5-yard run.
Seeger rallied the Broncos (6-2, 2-2) to a pair of fourth-quarter scores. He hooked up with Terrance Terry (7 catches, 72 yards) on a 30-yard touchdown, and Rodney Brown's 2-point conversion left Barrington down just 35-32 with 3:07 left.
As Fremd was trying to run out the clock, Brad Jackson recovered his second fumble (along with a blocked punt return for a touchdown), giving the Broncos possession on the Fremd 46 with 37.3 seconds left. Jackson ably filled the linebacker spot normally occupied by the injured Alex Smith, who was not in uniform.
On third-and-goal from the 9, Murach kicked his second 26-yard field goal as time expired, sending the game into overtime.
Tauchman brought back the Vikings from a 17-14 halftime deficit by directing a ground attack that accounted for 317 yards, 226 in the second half. He finished with 152 yards and 2 touchdowns on 27 carries. Mike Gyetvay, who also played the entire game at linebacker, rushed 20 times for 116 yards.
Tauchman overcame a blocked punt, a fumbled snap on another punt and an interception, all in the first half, to come up with big play after big play after intermission.
"In a tough game, you can't let one play affect you the next play," Tauchman said. "Our offensive line played its best game of the year."
"How many times do you win a game with 2 (botched) punts and giving up a special teams touchdown (Sam Ojuri's 94-yard kickoff return)?" asked Fremd coach Mike Donatucci. "It was a team win and was important to us. We walked off the field last week (after a loss at Palatine) shaking our heads."
Also shaking his head was Barrington coach Joe Sanchez, whose team came from behind twice, only to come away empty-handed.
"I'm extremely proud of the kids and the way they fought back," Sanchez said. "They didn't want to lose."